Twisted Sister Guitarist Details Why ‘Rock Is Dead’ in 2025

The discussion of “Rock Is Dead” has been bandied about frequently in the decade since Gene Simmons notably broached the idea in an interview, but during a chat with Sean P. McKenna on Rimshots With Sean for Barstools & Bandtalk, Twisted Sister’s Jay Jay French broke it down as to why that argument has some weight to it.Why Jay Jay French Says “Rock Is Dead” + How He Backs It UpMuch like Gene Simmons, Jay Jay French pointed to how music was in his youth to help bolster his argument that rock is dead.”People say to me, ‘What makes you say rock is dead?’ Well, here’s my take on that. When I was 17 years old back in 1969, all my heroes — Beatles, Stones, Who, Zep, Floyd, Hendrix, Dylan, Grateful Dead, Jefferson Airplane; you name it, you name ’em all — none of them were older than 27. Now think about this for a second. The greatest rock artists in the history of the world, when I was 17, were no older than 10 years more than me. Most of them were 25 to 27,” says French. “Well, I say, name me a 27-year-old rock star right now. And nobody can name one.””So when you tell me, ‘Rock isn’t dead.’ Man. It’s all over the place,” says French.READ MORE: Why Gene Simmons Feels Rock Is Still Dead”I’m not saying that there are no rock bands. I’m just saying that the collective psyche that dictates current music trends and sociological impact of music, it’s not showing up in the rock world in terms of mass acceptance,” French clarifies.He adds, “What is showing up in the music world? Hip-hop, huge. Country, huge. Female pop artists, huge. You can rattle off 20 rappers under the age of 25, you can rattle off 20 female pop singers under 25, you can rattle off country artists by the ton. You’re not rattling off rock musicians.”The guitarist comments, “It doesn’t mean, clearly, that no one’s creating it. It just means that the body of what we constitute as the standard rock act — two guitars, bass drums, lead singer, blah, blah, blah, blah — is, for the most part, by and large, over.”French says that when people ask him how he feels when he’s told that rock is dead, he says, “I don’t look at it and go, ‘Oh, why can’t it come back?’ I go, you had a 55-year run. I mean, hell, what doesn’t have a 55…? Big Band had a 20-year run and jazz had a 20-year run. They had 20-year runs. Disco had a seven-year run. Then it all kind of comes as a niche product. Does it mean disco’s not around? No, disco’s around for certain people who like to listen to disco music. You can find the channel and listen to it all day long, but it’s not impacting the world. Same thing with jazz and classical music. It’s always gonna sell, there’s always gonna be a body of people out there buying it — wonderful — but the youth of America is not absorbing it and saying, ‘This is reflective of who we are.'”Twisted Sister’s Jay Jay French Guests on “Rimshots With Sean” on Barstools & BandtalkWhat Else Jay Jay French Has Said on the Death of RockFrench’s views on the death of rock’s prominence in modern society are not something he’s not addressed before. In fact, in 2016 while speaking with Kaaos TV (as shared by Blabbermouth) he reiterated much of the same argument.At the time, he also shot down some of the arguments for those championing “younger” rock and metal acts.”Someone goes, ‘Muse.’ They’re not 25 years old; they’re way older than that. Avenged Sevenfold: they’re not 25 years old; they’re way older than that. Slipknot: they’re not 25 years old; they’re way older than that,” argued French at the time. “So the next generation doesn’t seem to be there, and I don’t know the reason why. I wish I knew the reason why. Because pop music is huge; female pop stars are huge, right? And hip-hop is huge, and rap is huge, and country music is huge. So where’s rock? Rock is kind of not there.”He added, “Again, it’s not Jay Jay saying rock is dead. Look at the charts. Tell me where it is. It’s not there. Radio doesn’t play it, and it doesn’t seem the kids are buying it. So if radio is not playing it, and the kids are not buying it, who’s creating it?”The 51 Best Rock + Metal Albums of 2024Loudwire’s writers recap the best rock and metal albums of the year. See which of your favorites are here!Contributing Authors: Chuck Armstrong, Jordan Blum, Rob Carroll, Chad Childers, Joe DiVita, John Hill, Lauryn SchaffnerGallery Credit: Loudwire Staff